Lorie Palmer

Stories by Lorie

“You have to enjoy and love coffee to have a good coffee shop and serve a good cup,” smiled Alison Stahl. “I love coffee.”
Stahl opened Sunrise Espresso at 914 West Main Street (behind P1FCU and the Free Press and across from Zip Trip) Aug. 2.

In honor of the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, Father John Gathungu offered animal blessings for the pets of Sts. Peter and Paul School families Wednesday, Oct. 4. Father Gathungu is the priest at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Parish in Grangeville.

A discussion group regarding local emergency response services is in the works thanks to Syringa Hospital board member Jim May of Kooskia.
“I believe our local emergency service groups, QRUs and EMTs, are suffering due to a lack of volunteers,” May said at the regular Sept. 26 board meeting.

A group of residents at Grangeville Health and Rehabilitation (GHR) will be a little warmer this winter, thanks in part to Grangeville High School senior Mikayla Ruzicka.
Ruzicka helped nine residents make fleece blankets as part of her senior project.
“I had a car wash to raise money for the fleece this summer, and then the residents helped tie the blankets,” she said.

It’s a great time to be a fourth grader. Just ask a group of girls from Kamiah Middle School.
“It was pretty exciting,” said 9-year-old Emily Puckett.
“I couldn’t believe it at first,” added Emma Krogh, also 9.

Despite some drizzle and cool temperatures, more than 100 people gathered for the annual Flamingo Fun Run Saturday, Sept. 30, during Grangeville’s second annual Oktoberfest event. This year’s run was organized by Grangeville High School senior Kate Lutz and proceeds will go toward helping find a cure for SMA (spinal muscular atrophy).

Heather Slichter of Grangeville holds her dog after it crossed the finish line in the annual Oktoberfest Winer Dog races. Results were not available as of press time Tuesday. More than 12 dogs raced as a crowd of bystanders watched the canines scramble toward their owners.

The convenience of accessible care in one location has come to Grangeville. Syringa Hospital and Clinics is now home to a fully operational pharmacy.
Syringa Clinic Pharmacy, owned and operated by Cardinal Health, is located next to the clinic (inside).

Is it a new student? A visitor? No, it’s a teacher!
“I have been mistaken for a visitor or a friend of a student,” laughed Taylor Heitman Schaeffer.
Schaeffer is the new face of special education at Grangeville High School. She replaces Sally Payne who retired in May.

Local schools fell within average ranges in standardized testing for the 2016-17 school year.
The State Department of Education, through its “report card,” released the results of the 2017 Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) 2017 for districts and schools K-12

(Top, left) Best of Show Grangeville Merchants Oktoberfest scarecrow contest winner is Seasons Restaurant; (top, right) Funniest Grangeville Merchants Oktoberfest scarecrow contest winner is The Idaho County Free Press. Here, Free Press Editor David Rauzi interviews his scarecrow likeness. Second-place winner is U.S. Bank with KORT Radio in third place; (bottom, left) Most original Grangeville Merchants Oktoberfest scarecrow contest winner is Ace Home Center, pictured with creator Barbara Adkison. Second-place winner is Umpqua Bank and Crema Cafe is in third; and (bottom, right) Scariest Grangeville Merchants Oktoberfest contest winner is Irwin Drug, pictured here. Second-place was Super 8 and third was won by The Establishment. In all, there were 16 entries.

The Grangeville Elementary Middle School PTA’s annual jog-a-thon was held Friday, Sept. 29, at the school. Elementary students participated in a bubble run while middle schoolers had the color run. Funds raised will go toward PTA projects to benefit the school during the year. Even Mountain View School District 244 Superintendent Marcus Scheibe got in on the bubble run, held on a perfectly-blue-skied day with just enough wind to make the bubbles fly.

Despite some rumors and a misleading letter in last week’s paper, Delores Kindall said, the Grangeville Senior Citizens Center meal program is up and running.
“We served 90 meals Monday, Sept. 25, and also completed the home deliveries,” she said.

Two-day fest kicks off Friday

Fall has begun, and what better way to start the season than Oktoberfest?
The Grangeville Merchants second annual Oktoberfest event will start this Friday, Sept. 29, with the Syringa Clinic Community Block Party, 4 to 6 p.m.
“This is our opportunity to thank the community for their patience and support during our renovating process,” said clinic manager Michelle Schaeffer.

A walk on the Boise Greenbelt last spring changed the course of Hailey Russell’s senior project.
“I was leaning toward planting trees, but when I saw this little library on a walk with my sister, I knew it was something I wanted to do,” said Russell, 18, Grangeville High School.
Last weekend, Russell’s own Free Little Library was placed on the wall of Irwin Drug, facing Heritage Square.

A passion for music has led Merrill-Lee Rasmussen on a road that has brought her to Grangeville High School and Middle School. Rasmussen is the new music teacher for Grangeville schools, grades six through 12.
Born and raised about an hour outside of Seattle in Roy, Wash., Rasmussen graduated from Bethel High School.

Did you get to the Avista energy conservation open house at the Grangeville Senior Center last Wednesday? It was great. Very informative, good demonstrations and information as well as excellent food. In addition, Avista had a great bag of giveaways which included a plug-in timer, socket insulators, weather stripping and light bulbs. (Top, left) community health worker Renee Stevens takes blood from a visitor for an ACL test; (top, right) Levi Westra with Avista explains the timer for lights and other devices; (above, left) Avista gave out free items; and (above, right) Stephanie Duclos with A Taste of Art caters.

Grangeville High School juniors (front to back) Justin Fogleman and Blake Darr were fishing away as part of the GHS homecoming skit for the “Jaws Juniors” on movie theme day Thursday, Sept. 14. All students participated in daily dress-up themes, class skits, cheers, games and parade.

Are you a mom who’s looking for a way to meet friends and connect within your community?
MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) and MomsNext may just be the answer you’ve been looking for.
“Any mother in our community and surrounding towns is invited to join,” explained organizer Sarah Musick of Grangeville. “This year we expanded our group so we can welcome even more moms by adding in MomsNext. It’s like MOPS, but is designed for moms with school-age children. We wanted to include moms of older kids.”

Is your student confused about what to do with his future? Or perhaps your student has definite plans about what she wants to do following graduation. No matter the answer, part of the equation is the upcoming Career and Community Fair.

The seventh week of the Bicentennial Historical Museum’s annual Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series takes place next week. Bring a lunch and join in to hear some local history.
For the next two weeks, local history enthusiasts will discuss Idaho County people, places and things.

A new face in education has taken over the helm of Grangeville High School’s agricultural science education; however, to Katie Mosman, Grangeville feels like home.
“I grew up on a farm north of Nezperce and graduated from Nezperce High School in 2009,” Mosman said. “Being in Grangeville really does feel like home.”

For Grangeville High School senior Kate Lutz, the idea for her senior project was a no-brainer.
“My sister, Addie, started the Flamingo Fun Run four years ago, and then she also focused on it for her senior project,” Lutz explained.

After a year of design and engineering and more than 980 hours of 3D printing, Dennis Draleau came up with an invention to be proud of.
Draleau is the founder and inventor of Polymule, Inc.
He began his start-up company in July 2017, but his love for all things mechanical started long before that.

The sixth week of the Bicentennial Historical Museum’s annual Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series takes place next week. Bring a lunch and join in to hear some local history.
For the next three weeks, local history enthusiasts will discuss Idaho County people, places and things.

Girls from 2 on up to 22 were all part of Shirley’s Dance Studio’s open house in Grangeville Aug. 28. Current and future students met, signed up for the coming year and danced a little, too. Sign-ups are still available by calling Shirley Sears at 509-758-6510. Dancers meet each Monday at the United Methodist Church in Grangeville. (Top) Capri Hagen practices her moves while (left) Faye Kennedy gets into the groove.

After more than a year with interim pastor Bob Hislar and his wife, DeAnne, the Grangeville Church of the Nazarene has a new full-time minister.
Ben and Lynsey Boeckel and their 8-month-old son, Peter, joined the congregation this summer.

Auto repair in Grangeville just got a little easier with another choice for vehicle owners.
Main Street Service opened Aug. 28 and is located at 325 East Main Street, on the same side as Camas Eye Clinic.

Dr. Kim Campbell has been practicing in Orofino for the past five years and recently made the move to Syringa Hospital and Clinics.
“I’ve done some moonlighting in the E.R. and got the chance to work with the staff and get a feel for the community, and I was impressed,” said the family medicine doctor. She started Aug. 28 and is accepting new patients.

Hospital budget passes for coming year

Syringa Hospital representatives recently spent several hours working on disaster planning – from fires and ice-storms to attacks and school emergencies.
At the August meeting, the hospital board discussed a “table top” disaster preparedness activity that took place late this summer and involved many local entities.
“One thing we definitely saw was the problem with a lack of communication between agencies,” reported CNO Alex Frei.

Where you live can have a large influence on how much money a person makes, and who doesn’t want to live in a place where incomes are rising quickly?
SmartAsset, a financial technology company, recently analyzed Census data for a five-year period to determine where incomes were growing the fastest, and Idaho County ranked among the top places in Idaho.

For Amy Farris, work at Grangeville Health and Rehabilitation has always been a family affair.
Farris has worked at the facility since 2000, starting as a floor CNA. However, she was roaming the halls many years prior as her own mom, Ellen Aiken, has worked there for years.
“These people – they are all my grandpas and grandmas,” she said. “Through the years when I have toyed with applying for other jobs, it has always come down to, ‘But who will take care of my family?’ They aren’t just residents. They are my family.”

It's Your Business 2017

We’ve all shopped the big box stores and there’s nothing wrong with that. There are things we can purchase from those facilities that we can often not get in our small towns. However, the process deserves some serious thought, especially during the upcoming season of shopping that really starts in October and goes through to Christmas, where most of us are purchasing more gifts than in other months.

It's Your Business 2017

Did you know that small, long-term, family-owned businesses in Idaho County accounted for a total payroll of $18,213,254 in 2015? Additional private businesses added another $82,130,611. That’s out of a total $151,724,021 wages and salaries in 2015.
According to Kathryn Tacke, regional economist for the Idaho Department of Labor, Lewiston office, there are 61* long-term local businesses employing 534 people. The average pay per work at those businesses was $34,107 (annual) which is 3.1 percent higher than the $33,090 paid by all other private-sector employers.

It's Your Business 2017

Movies have always been a part of Chris Wagner’s life.
“I do enjoy movies – it’s in my blood,” he smiled.
Wagner began working at the Blue Fox Theater downtown Grangeville when he was 10 or 12 years old, he said.

It's Your Business 2017

Worldwide travel and a lifetime of experiences finally led Dorian and Marie Clay back to Riggins seven years ago.
Dorian grew up in the area and has family ties to the Circle C Ranch.
When he discussed with Marie the possibility of living in Riggins, she wasn’t so sure.
“It took a while, but once we decided on the business, I was ready,” she smiled. “And I love it here.”

It's Your Business 2017

Where you live can have a large influence on how much money a person makes, and who doesn’t want to live in a place where incomes are rising quickly?
SmartAsset, a financial technology company, recently analyzed Census data for a five-year period to determine where incomes were growing the fastest, and Idaho County ranked among the top places in Idaho.

It's Your Business 2017

Gordy Webster took a chance in 1978. He bought into Bell Equipment with his friend, Gary Stapleton, and moved his family from Seattle to Nezperce.
“They had worked at Boeing together in the accounting department,” explained Brian Webster, the youngest of the five Webster children, and just 1 year old when the family moved to Nezperce.
Gordy did not have farm or ranch experience, but he had a good business head, and was excited to buy into the John Deere dealership.

It was back to the serious business of chasing – and capturing – boys on the first day of school at Grangeville Elementary Middle School (GEMS) Wednesday, Aug. 23. Here (L-R) Jenna Denuit, Carson Barger and Callie Weisz have some fun prior to the start of school last Wednesday morning.

‘Best excuse ever!’ for being late

I messaged some of my co-workers, including my publisher, editor and sports editor, Monday morning. It’s not unusual to do so. Our schedules are flexible since we often work weekends and nights. So, getting an “I’ll be late,” message from me wasn’t surprising.
However, the reason may have been.
“I would like to get this goat out of my garage before I come in to work,” I wrote. “I am not a goat whisperer.”